that is it for willis report, thank you for joining us. have a gate night. we'll see you right back here tomorrow. lou: good evening i am lou dobbs, we're looking at some worst of the devastation, and destruction caused by hurricane sandy. you are looking at is the small new york city community of breezy point, queens, home after home, burned to the ground. more than 100 houses reduced to ash, breezy point, one of many east coast communities devastated. by the superstorm. at least 62 storm-related deaths have been reported since sandy made landfall in southern enginemenmentnewjersey.

71 pearished in the caribbean. and national largest city is still struggling to begin to recover. large swaths of downtown manhattan are still underwater. and battery tunnel is filled with water. there are no estimates on when it will be pumped dry. across the hudson, in hoboken, national guard there, working to evacuate 20,000 rez dent 20 rese been without power for two days, and streets emerged. and destruction along jersey shore, agonizing to rehold. the resort town, off limits tonight even residents cannot

enter, hurricane blowing many of the million-dollar homes off their foundations. and broken gas lines. adding more obstacles to what will be a long-running recovery, 6 million people still in the dark across 15 states at this hour, more than half of initi engine still without -- new rsey still without power, president obama touring with one of his ha harshest critics, new jersey governor chris christie. theyut aside their politics for the day, president returned braise that governor offered him yesterday. >> and top of my list, i have to say, that governor christie throughout this process has been responsive, he has been aggressive. in making sure that the state got out in front of this incredible storm.

and i think that the people of new jersey recognize that he is put his heart and soul into making sure that the people of new jersey bounce back, stronger than before. lou: latest on aftermath of hurricane sandy. we'll have latest for you, development in the ben been benghazi cover up on, and new york stock exchange, making a mark after a two day closure. we have it all, former reagan advisadd or -- advertiser, and d rumsfeld will join me with his view on the president's so-called narrative. that is a work of fiction. and a-team, robert zimmerman, and hank shine coff.

and taranto. and one of largest organization providing dits 8 offer relief to victims of hurricane sandy and superstorm that followed, is american red cross, sending thousands of volunteers, to the storm ravaged northeast, the red cross providing 23,000 overnight stays for victims of the storm since saturday, tuesday night more than 9,000 people in 100 someone to red cross shelters across 13 states, joining us now, senior vice president of disaster trading for red voss -- red cross, charlie, give us an estimate to how many people remain homeless and evacuated. how many are in setters? your best estimate. >> we know that 9,000 people spent last night in american red cross shelters, 13,000 in shelters all over states red cross and independent shelters,

but how many people are out displaced, that number is in tens of probably hundreds of thousands, many stay with families or are staying in hotels, probably a quarter million, really big numbers in terms of displaced. you already mentioned in terms offed size of this event. lou: hardest hit region has to be south shore of new jersey where the storm hurricane force made landfall, correct? >> certainly new jersey, new york, hardest hit in terms of number of people. but as you mentioned we're working across 16 states because we're not just dealing with storm surge but damage from wind, from rain, and flooding, and as you know snow and big fires in new york city. this is different types of disasters across many states. hard to say just one area badly hit. lou: what should people, as they are fortunate enough to have

power restored, to return to their homes and begin process of rebuilding. what should they be on the look out for? >> first foremost, be careful of power lines, live hot power lines look the same as power lines that have no power. so people need to stay away from the power lines if they have a generate or, and they use them, they need to be safely outside, away from windows, and away from the house, not nearby, and most important thing is listen to the media. listen to radio, hopefully people that do not have pow very battery--- power have battery operated radios, they can get a better sense from public officials to when it is safe to go back out to the community. lou: talking about refrigerated food, one of the questions, my wife and i always discuss, when

is the time to be concerned about food without power. best assessment? best way to judge? >> if you lost power even just two days ago, you need to be careful with that restrin refrid food. bacteria can become a issue. lou: my wife was right, as always, thank you, charlie. we appreciate all you are doing and the red cross is doing. and as we conclude. where can people contact the red cross? donate money or help? >> thank you. red cross cannot do what is does without support of the general public. this is a big even that will cost tens of millions, our web site redcross.do.org .

the next 9, red cross to 90999. thank you, charlie. a great organization doing freight work thank you. >> thank you. lou: much more on political and economic implication of this hurricane and superstorm throughout this hour. >> superstorm sandy, hit 21 states and dc. what will be the impact on election day. >> we talk about the election. >> today is halloween, but a lot of people here are thinking we just about had all of the tricks

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lou: the east coast beginning to dig out from devastation, caused by hurricane sandy. the economic impact we examine in a moment. the financial markets reopened for trading today, for the first time this week. after being closed for two days in a row, for the first time since 1888 for weather conditions. the dow and nazdaq losing today. s&p up. 3.5 billion shares were traded on new york stock exchange. moderate volume but what was about daily average before hurricane sandy. the hurricane, related stocks,

sted strong rallies today. eaeaterials, makers of sheetrock up almost 10%. owens corning up. beacon roofing, up over 4%. one of the biggest losers was western union, fell 29%, mising on revenue, guiding expectations lower for the fourth quarter. lumber prices hitting a 19 month high, rising 10-cents a board foot, the loss of homes need to be rebuilt. and investors assess the impact of sandy, yield dropping to 1.68%. >> crude oil prices up 56-cents, joining us now to analyze what is going on with the economy.

these markets, arthur lapre it is great to have you with us. >> thank you, lou. lou: start with impact of the hurricane. to whether much is made too much made, of the impact on gdp growth or broad economy for next several months. >> it is just a temporary hit, i would expect from the storm. i don't think it will be long lasting or affect gdp growth. it will not affect the ream economy over -- real economy over any long run. lou: our hearts go out to those who suffered so much damage and devastation, and losses. and those who lost loved ones. this is a very tough time, and it is almost impossible to judge what the impact will be, psychically on the nation.

andn terms of the politics. give us your best assessment there. >> well, i don't think it will have much of an affect on politics, both candidates handled themselves well. president oba of presidential, and did these duties correctly. i don't think that mitt romney any anything wrong. he was very respectful of the storm and respectful of the people. i think they both handled themselves as well as they could. they did a fine job. lou: latest fox poll, we have candidates tied up. as we are now -- >> it is amazing. lou: approaching 5 days from the election. this is going to -- this is going to turn -- is it? on benghazi? or is it going to turn on jobs in the economy? or a mad mixture there of? >> i hope jobs in the economy. i am terrified about what is going on happen january 1st,

2013 with tax me geton. people shifted income out of 200013 to 2012 -- 2013 to 2012, it is much worse than it looks, people have made it look better by moving income from 13 to 12. it will be like going off a cliff whether he hit 2013. i am concerned. two candidates differ, dramatically on their economic policies. i think romney is far, far better than obama, obama has made a huge mistake over the last 3 years. lou: and friday, our last reading on unemployment. i don't know -- i don't know if anyone pays attention to these numbers. >> i do. lou: there is some credibility gap i believe. but give us your thoughts. >> you know, numbers have been

horrible for the last 36 months, there has been no real recovery in the u.s. we barely kept up with population growth. if the participation rate had not fallen as sharply as we had, unemployment would still be in 12% range. a lot of people out there working, are working but part time instead of full time look they would like. it cannot continue this way very long. this is a tragic is, if you worry abouteople in the storm you do, you have to worry about theme without jobs for last 4 or 5 years, who lost ability to ever get back in the labor force, it is a tragic loss of a press our natural -- precious natural resource, i am at odds with what should be don lou: we're all sfrufl frustratey

that. very few people talk about this that is. we have seen whites staying the same in unemployment. but the blacks and hispanics, their ratio have risen over the so-called recovery. what are we going to do here? this president should have been focused you would think, you would thinky this wouldn focused on black unemployment. >> you know, and jack kemp, and nald reagan, i did work with them, this is a natural for putting enterprise zones in inner-cities where economic devastation is the ways. but obama has not gone any of that. this is a straightforward policy, i got reagan, and kemp, they all onboard, now we find

it, that not happening when the need is so great, lou. put yourself in a poor person's shoes today, if is devastation, all poor person gets is handouts, you can't become prosperous on hand out its does not make sense, this is immoral in the fundamental sense of the word of what is going on today. lou: arture thank you. the unemployment number. >> not changing much, i saved money today, i don't have to buy a mask, given how ugly i am, i don't have to buy a mask. lou: we're equally blessed. >> thank you. >> from your mouth to god's ears. lou: i never raise my voice above a whisper. up next, romney advisor davis,

and thoughts on what some see as a particular obama-chris kristi chris christie love fest. >> and donald rumsfeld examine the administration statements, contradiction, and prospect of responsible assumed for the loss of four american lives. all eyes, right here. this is our year. i thought it was last year... turns out i was wrong. none of us would walk in here and settle. that's how we are! i forgot what i was going to y. patrick, i want 100% commitment! because i care man, ok? who are we!? 49ers! 49ers! 49ers! yeah! [ all cheering ] what the heck is going on in here?

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lou: following the state of texas, warning those u.n. voting monitors, they had better stay away on election day.

iowa secretary of state, warning that observers will be arrested in iowa, if they violate state law, and come within 300 feet of a polling place. attorney general of texas, he issued a same warning last week, @%ited nations not real popular. in those two states, i suspect in a lot more. early voting numbers suggestion that president obama may be in trouble in florida. at this point, in 2008, democrats held a more than 134,000 vote lead in florida. as of yesterday, democrats led by fewer than 21,000. and 70 percent drop off. obama campaign does not dispute the numbers. well, i'm joined by artur davis, national co-chair of president obama's 2008 presidential campaign, a former democratic congressman from the great state of alabama. he has since charged his party

affiliation. and also with us former rnc spokesperson. jerry jacoby. >> thank you, lou. lou: let's start, how much troutrouble is this. >> democrats put a lot of stock in early voting, in getting their base out to vote early, they ran up a huge margin over john mccain 4 years ago, because of early voting, one of the reason that democrats are so panicked renew, one reason they are trying to spend every possible tea leaf and discredit every national poll they could looking at hard -- they are looking at hard numbers from data poll numbers could one state they are not behind early

vote numbers is colorado. problem is colorado happens to be one of the republican's strongest early voting states. there was a survey, by pew i believe, shows that obama is winning early vote by 7 points, he won is by 16 16, 4 years ago. lou: as we look at numbers, the fox polls the two men are locked up, 46% each. and that happens to be where the real clear politics poll of polls has this race. knotted up, even. with 5 days remaining before the election. your thoughts? >> well, here is the thing, momentum is with mitt romney, storm is a little bit of a bump. his numbers have been going up. and president obama's numbers

down. with regard to early voting as well, democrat strategy to get as many people out to vote who are reliable voters while republican strategy to get hard to get voters, those who need that extra nudge, thret gem out first, on election day, it will be republicans with a larger pool of reliable voters to get out, democrats are using them at, i think that momentum is are mitt romney, you see the newspaper endorsement, state after state they went for obama in 08, now mitt romney n 12, you see this in florida, nation alltel graph in new hampshire, in that state it was obama by 9 points in 2008, he is ahead by one now. you see it in state after state, momentum is with romney. lou: real clear politics does something interesting, compare, poll, polls for today, that poll

to 2004, 2008, 2008, at this juncture, president then senator obama was running six and a half points ahead of senator mccain, in 2004, bush had a one and aal point lead on senator kerry, is that instructive or just sort of an amusing glimpse at history. >> political junkies, heard those were margins of 2004, and 8 for those who like to say national polling does not amount to much this is accurate. it is the state by state polls, that is less productive. but i make a basic point about the storm, i know a lot of democrats, if you go to liberal blogs, they are all holding hands, say it will be okay, they are trying to make a political point to of the way that president is responding to the

hurricane. the average american, looks at what happened on east coast, they see a human tragedy, they do not see a political proving ground, all these dc pundits who are trying to make a political moment out of obama in new jersey or oba reaction, they are so disconnected from the way thatmerican people are engaging this human tragedy. they do not see it as a little bit a--political moment. lou: we'll look at about how much of a moment it is. quickly the last word. >> independence are breaking hard for mitt romney. see see that in key states, with an incumbant on the ticket. and this late, undecided voters usually brake for the charler that is what is -- for the challenger that is what is happening with mitt romney. lou: thank you so much. we have more on the election,

including effects of the hurricane, and the benghazi cover-up, we talk about that with donald rumsfeld and the a-team later. >> every poll shows a presidential race that seem to be getting tighter by the day with 6 days left until election day, the a-team next. >> the election may have been decided, november 6 in history, we'll tell you which political party is favored next. why is thissed ised administraty with stonewalling on benghazi? that is right, i said stonewalling, is it a cover-up, i talk with former defense

♪ lou: well, let's turn now to developments on benghazi. the white house tonight denying reports it refused to rescue

american diplomats in benghazi. the obama administration resisting responsibility, instead blaming the intelligence community for false statements and contradictions. cia director david patraeus director stood up for his agency and his people saying, no one at any level in the cia told anybody not to help those in need. we talk with former defense secretary donald rumsfeld who serve for u.s. presidents, and i ask him about the unusual patraeus statement. >> it is not that unusal if you think back about a week ago when statements out of the white house and the administration seemed to suggest that the intelligence community has been deficient in their work and seemed to be throwing the cia under the boss a little bit. and this reaction back from the cia is, i think possibly

reasonably predictable even though as you suggest, it is unusual. lou: in the case of the benghazi controversy, will call it that for now, it seems to be one set of the nile's after another. the next being that we still don't know who denied a request for security to be improved, bolstered in benghazi this past summer after a number of attacks on our consulate, on other outposts of the british government, the red cross. somebody denied that, and the president says he cannot answer that question because there is an fbi investigation. >> well, we do know that the first responsibility for the protection of u.s. embassies and consulates is with the host government, and we also know that the host government is not capable of providing security for our embassy or our consulate, so therefore the

responsibility falls to the department of state. and it is without question the department of state that the ambassador all over the world, ambassadors' describe what they believe to be their security situation and make requests for assistance. clearly there were a great many signals among other indices were leaving. we noon that september 11th was an anniversary of the 2001 attacks on america, and from everything you can read it is pretty clear that there were requests that were not fulfilled. we know for a fact that the security was inadequate because we lost four americans, including the ambassador. lou: we lost those four lives. and at the same time, there seems to be this question put forward by the white house as to why would there be any question about security on the 11th anniversary of september 11th in benghazi, this after the past summer, the british ambassador

was attacked. the red cross was attacked. both left the country, left the city. benghazi as a result. the united states was the only western power with a standard flying, if you will, in benghazi. and it is extraordinary. there would not be security for our ambassador, our diplomats, the staff of that consulate. >> it is. if you think about it, the first segment, you're talking about a man that was the failure to provide adequate security despite the fact that there were repeated indications that additionalsecurity was needed. the second was the one you mentioned earlier, namely the fact that once they were under attack that information came back to the united states almost instantaneously. and it clearly went into the situation room and the white house, and if it went into the situation room and the white house, which it did, it had to be made very properly available

to, at least the chief of staff and the national security advisor. these are two people who are with the president day in and day out and you have the sip -- responsibility of informing the president. so is very hard for me to believe that president obama was not aware that the attack was taking place. lou: can you imagine my in the world anyone would make the statement that the united states military does not send our forces into harm's way without knowing what is going on when there has been audio and video live transmissio of the attack, almost an unprecedented amount of knowledge about the details and the moment of that attack. seven hours in duration. >> apparently there was a drone overhead that was providing some live feed of what was taking place. so they had to have some kind of knowledge of what the circumstance on the ground was. that thing that struck me was

the repeated statements, if you start with the fact that there was not sufficient security and for people that killed in an attack, the point you're making that there wasn't any assistance provided, but then there are these statements that have come out, the president, the secretary of state, the ambassador to the united nations, the president's press spokesman all talking about a spontaneous attack, leaving the impression it was not a terrorist attack, even though it was on september 11th, and then the idea that it was -- it was a result of what everyone s usg, a talking point saying it was a hateful video. and this was days after words when the cia knew it was a terrorist attack within a matter of hours. lou: the questions remain. actually, they and large. numerous by the day.

we thank you for being with us, secretary donald rumsfeld, as always. >> thank you. lou: up next, democratic national committee had to be wasserman shultz stopping traffic in florida. not in the way you might think. we'll show you. and coming up tomorrow veteran campaign strategist amount democrat, radio talk-show host and author market rally, former bush adviser among our guests. stay with us for the very latest from the hurricane ravaged eastern seaboard next.

♪ lou: good news for the aba campaign, a new poll out showing the president crushing governor romney. some bad news associated with it. it is a poll taken in russia. that's right, all whopping 41 percent of russians want president obama reelected. only 8%, 8% back romney.

oh, my goodness. they have cancer that sort of things. those romn supporters may want to kind of watch their backs given what is happening in russia these days. romney will have history on his side heading into next week's election. the republicans have won every single presidential election on november 6th. going back to 1860's when abraham lincoln beat democrat stephendouglas. only five days to get that election in and see if the street continues. i don't see why they don't just call the election based on that historical imperative. new reports tonight that dnc chairman w. wasserman shultz got involved in dated altercation with the florida police officer. he asked her to stop blocking traffic. wasserman shultz was greeting voters outside a polling station in the city of at ventura

earlier this week. the policeman asked her to move to the sidewalk, pretty please. she reportedly refused to argue with the officer and the city's mayor he showed up to just a few moments later, no comment yet from the congressman's office with the dnc but we thought we would mention it. the mainstream liberal media may be given the president of pass on the benghazi cover-up a late night host jay leno certainly is not. >> don't ask don't tell is back. not for gays in the military but president obama's new policy for questions about libya. don't ask don't tell. [applause] lou: also weighed in on the obama campaign newest ad featuring hbo star lena dunham comparing voting for obama to losing her virginity. >> one line says, your first time shouldn't be with just anybody. [laughter] it should be with a great guy who really understands women. and on the other hand, if it is

your first time you might want to do with with someone who doesn't need eight years to get the job done. that's all and ang. lou: doing a better job than much of the mainstream liberal media. up next governor romney, president obama both appearing with prominent republicans today . the "a-team" takes that up. what is the deal? the democrats need a little boost? stay with us. ♪ i know the name of eight princesses. i'm an expt on softball. and tea parties. i'll have more awkward conversations than i'm equipped for because i'm raising two girls on my own. i'll worry about the economy more than a few times before they're grown. but it's for them, so i've found a way. who mattermost to you says the most about you. massmutual is owned by our policyholders so they matter most to us.

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♪ lou: well, joining me now, the "a-team", democratic strategist robert zimmerman, a veteran political consultant and adviser to former president clinton among others in that capacity.

wall street journal opinion page editor. well, you know, as we look at these polls, absolutely not a doubt, it is, as they have said it would be for since the outset , of very tight election. >> a very close race. recede now coming down to the states in this election. ultimately we have talked about before. early on this point. ohio is the name of the game. the issue. right now it is encouraging to see the ground game obama has been a lead he has. the acts of desperation mitt romney has had to engage in. lou: did we just transition from analysis time a raw-rob party for democrats? >> pretty much. neil this. i'm busted. lou: well, as robert is basking in the glow of something that is not quite, maybe you can give us a sensas to what you think will happen specifically. >> the same states we have been talking about for quite some time.

remember that one out of every eight jobs, the halo effect directly to the other industry. obama basking in glory of the bailout, as he should. that is what is turning the election the way it is. lou: to you by these polls? do you buy that it's this tight? that these swing state polls are really the strong? >> well, the polls seem odd because we saw a big shift in the nationwide polls. after the first debate. but then we have seenome movement in swing states like florida and virginia, although not as much as we have seen. ohio seems not to have budget at all. other movement in states like -- surprisingly close polls in pennsylvania, michigan, oregon. may i finish, please and so it

is all of the polls, the nationwide vote is moving toward romney, but it's not moving in the swing states, which seems odd. it means that they are not swing states. lou: it's important to put it in perspective. these political, really political viagra. bottom line, all these surges are artificial. more than four days. get a new poster. >> i think he should have lynen dunham on your show to talk about that. >> that's terrific. lou: i would never argue with such a metaphor. thank you. >> that's hard. lou: you know what, what can i say. moving along. back to you know. i think that is not exactly accurate. there it still problems and polling. by definition it is a science, sometimes an art, but the romney sears's real one. it has taken on states that

matter. colorado, nevada, ohio. right now that came is concluding very quickly. this is that are still open, nevada, colorado, ohio. tightening up. they decided. lou: is there momentum? is that momentum at the very least? whenever the effect may be from hurricane sandy? was that interrupted? i'm not suggesting it was stop, stop perhaps by hurricane sandy. >> you know, that's the sort of question that one can really only guess at. who knows. i don't think it doesn't -- lou: we have certain knowledge. every other hypothetical. >> he said that russia poll earlier. i think it's notable that obama is only at 41%. 41-8. big margin, but he's under 50 and undecideds tend to break for the challenger. lou: to you want to rebut his analysis.

>> i'll leave him to analyze their boat in russia. something interesting to watch. there continues to be an enthusiasm gap between republicans and democrats. barack obama ahead of mitt romney. even are slightly at which means for my party you have to get our enthusiasm level up to match the ground game. lou: and you're doing an excellent job of that. >> exactly correct. exactly correct. lou: he would like to say that one more time. >> exactly correct. he who turns out and get his vote out wins the election. the problem the democrats have is that may not be able to replicate the same kind of turnout as they had in 2008. very hard, particularly among young people and others who wer so involved. lou: you are one of the country's leading strategists. you understand these polls better than almost anyone. give us your sense of what is happening right now? our independence still likely to break by the obama? udc as benefiting going into the

final days? >> this will break down to the old makes a ultimately. the last time pro we in our lifetime, southern protestant, breaking out that way. if you look at the states that are out, nevada and colorado, hispanics and others no voting more democrat, not changing the numbers. heavily blue-collar, heavily industrial state that will break that way and it is the alleged oral college. lou: all right. with that thank you very much. we appreciate it. thank you. up next, one of your reaction to a terse exchange. you don't want to miss these comments. they're quite something tonight. [ engine revving ]

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[ chuckles ] -whew, so many choices. -take your time. -the service center. -okay. giving you choices -- now, that's progressive. call or click today. lou: walden color wrote me to say i love to love of my chair when and 18 member doody said its you was waiting for fema to restore my power. to think she would make a statement like this and national tv demonstrates complete ignorance or blind faith and federal government bureaucrats or both. his arms more of their response. not very tepid. have obama show the executive order for the military to go into benghazi to prote